Something special happens when the right actor is picked for the right comic book movie role. Like Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man or Ben Affleck's Batman, you can just see the magic unfold when a performer has a specific connection to his or her respective hero. Although it's still early, it appears that such a phenomenon is once again occurring, as Jason Momoa seems to identify with Aquaman's outcast status on a very personal level. Momoa explained:
How I identify with that is kind of being...a bit of an outcast. You see, he wasn't really too accepted...I wasn't too accepted. There weren't any races where I grew up. There's no Chinese, no Mexican, no Black. I grew up in Iowa. I graduated with like 100 people. I was born in Hawaii, so I would go see my father...[I] just wasn't accepted on the local side by some people because I wasn't raised in Hawaii. I identify as being that outcast and not really fitting into two different worlds.
Jason Momoa opened up regarding his own personal connection with Aquaman during a recent interview, and explained how he relates to the iconic DC hero. Although he was born in Hawaii, he grew up in Iowa in a decidedly white environment where he never quite fit in. And when he would visit Hawaii he also felt like an outsider because he was never treated like a true Hawaiian. This imbalance ultimately caused him to feel like he never really belonged, and that he was stuck between two worlds.
That's about as close to a real life Aquaman story as you can possibly get. Much like Jason Momoa's tale, the story of Arthur Curry is defined by the tug-o-war between two lives: the surface and Atlantis. Although Momoa never felt torn between a mystical undersea world and the normal world, there are parallels between his story and that of his DC character that are impossible to ignore.
This struggle seems to have already informed his take on Aquaman, based upon what we have seen from Justice League. Although he's definitely a hero, Aquaman's a bit rough around the edges, and he certainly has the qualities of a loner. He seems like he keeps people at arm's length, and much of that likely has to do with a lifetime of not belonging.
Considering the fact that Jason Momoa relates to Aquaman on such a deeply personal level, we have a distinct feeling that he will do something incredibly special with the aquatic DC hero. We will know for sure when the Justice League finally assembles on November 17, 2017.
I think it's safe to say that we're all officially dying to see what Jason Momoa brings to the DCEU as Arthur Curry. Check out the first trailer for Zack Snyder's Justice League on the next page to get a better sense of his overall character!
